Clutch.



W. L. SHEPARD.

CLUTCH.

MPL10/WON FILED /\u ;.2l.191A

1,274,462 v lntmlind Aug. (i, 1918.

2 SHEEISASHEET l.

WILBUR L. SHEPABD, 0F ELMWOOD, CONNECTICUT.

GLUTCH.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1918.

Application led August 21, 1917. Serial No. 187,341.

To all whom t may concern s' Be it known that I, WiLBUR L. SHEPARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elmwood, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clutches, of which the following is aspecification.

, This invention relates to what I shall for convenience term a clutch and especially to that class thereof wherein a suitable and properly governed fluid is utilized to transmit the action of one member or element to another. Any illustration of a clutch of such character is found in Letters Patent No. 1,229,664 granted to me J une 12, 1917, and to which reference may be had. Again in my contemporaneously pending application filed July 31, 1917, No. 183,663, is another illustration. As will be clear the Huid utilized for transferring the effect of one element to the other or for performing a like office, may, within reasonable limits, vary as to character. A suitable oil, however has been vfound quite satisfactory. One of the primary purposes I have in view is the provision of an article of the kind set forth which is quite compact, this effect being obtained in fact while the parts are maintained within comparatively small compass.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification I have shown in detail one of the several advantageous forms'of embodiment of the invention which I will set forth fully in the following description. I am not necessarily limited to this showing. I may depart therefrom in different ways within the scope of the invention defined by the claims following said description.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section the section being on the line 1--1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2 -2 of Fig. 1.

Fi 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the c utch.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3.

Like characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

The clutch ascomparatively common in this and allied arts, comprises a driving and a driven member. These parts may be of any suitable nature, the shafts 2 and 3 meet- .ing my conditions in a satisfactory manner.

As shown said shafts are coaxial although their inner ends are spaced or separated from each other.z The shaft 2 in the illustration is the driving shaft and obviously the shaft 3 is the driven element. Power may be applied to the driving shaft 2 in various ways, for instance by a belt and pulley which I have 1. deemed it necessary to represent.

In combination with these two shafts or their equivalents I prefer to provide a carrier. As oil or something of a similar nature is used to effect the action of the clutch this carrier therefore takes the form of a casing'as 4 of la kind to contain the oil and certain adjunctive devices as I will explain more in detail hereinafter'. Said casing 4 is somewhat elongated and into its two ends the shafts to which I have referred are extended the inner terminals of the two shafts being in fact inclosed by the easing. The body portion 5 of the casing is closed integrally at one end by the wall 6, the plate 7 bolted or otherwise suitably united to said body portion, closing the opposite and open end of said body portion and' having a practically cylindrical chambered extension 8. Said extension 8 has the two chambers 8 and 8" closed at their outer ends by the threaded caps 9 and 9. Practically centrally of these caps, the driven shaft 3 projects, the driving shaft 2 projecting through the outer closed end 6. The extension 8 has the inwardly extending projecting portion 2 which is in the body portion 5 and which receives the two shafts 2 and 3. In the organization shown the casing 4 turns with one of the two shafts 2 and 3. I prefer for reasons that will hereinafter be set forth, that it rotate with the driven shaft 3. For example the driven shaft and the casing may have com lemental seats or key ways to receive the :ey 10. The shaft 2 is capable of rotative movement with respect to the casing 4 and as will be evident it extends into said casing freely through| the end wall 6 thereof.

As will hereinafter appear the clutch contains means for pumping oil and as long as the oil or its equivalent can be freely pumped, the driven shaft 3 will not be operated. By'wholly stopping the movement of the oil the result will be the rotation-of the shaft 3, as I will later point ont. B 110 partly checking the How of the oil thesha t 3 will be driven at less than its maximum ectin Dortion 2. 'lhis o"ear in turn meshes with duplicate and opposite bevel gears as 13 and 14 which are generally loose on the cross shaft 15. Said shaft extends freely through the projecting portion 2 and its ends bear flatwise against the inner faces of the bosses 16 opposite each other on the main portion 5 of the casing 4. Through the casing extend the screws 16 having conepointed inner ends which t 'correspondingly-shaped sockets in the ends of the cross shaft 15.

Around said cross shaft and also rotative with the gears 13 and 14 are eccentrics as 17 and 18 which as shown are a half circle apart, although this may' always not be necessary. rllhe eccentrics may be associated with the respective gears 13 and 14 in any desirable manner; for instance and as shown there may extend through the webs of the respective gears 13 and, 14, screws as 19 the threaded Shanks of which are tapped into the respective eccentrics. The shaft 15 as will be understood extends through said eccentrics and the latter in turn are equipped with lateral hubs as 19 fitted in seats in the adjacent and inner faces of the respective gears. 1t follows therefore that while free movement of the oil, as will be hereinafter pointed out, is permitted, the two gears 13 and 14 through the agency of the primary or master gear 12 under the action of the driving shaft 2 will be rotated to thus in turn -rotate the eccentrics andy consequently effect reciprocation of pistons in opposite directions as l will now explain.

The casing part 8 as l have stated has chambers 8 and 8 which are duplicate and which receive for sliding movement the pistons 21 and 22. To the inner ends ofthese pistons are jointed or otherwise suitably connected the pitmen 23 and 24 which in turn are connect-ed with the eccentrics 17 and 18 respectively. lt will therefore be clear that when the oil is permitted to flow freely or in its maximum ext/ent in the manner to which l have' already referred, these two pistons will reciprocate in their cylinders or bores 8 and 8".

The cylindrical extension 8 has in its outer end the annular channel 27. l should statel although it is believed it will be clear that the cinterior of the casing 4 1s vwhollyfilled wit-hmoil, for instance through an opening 4 closed by the screw plug 4. llt will. therefore lie evident that when the condition ensues to which l have referred, oil on the rat/Linea movement of the two pistons is circulated back and forth in the annular channel 27. If the flow of this oil is checked wholly and l will hereinafter state how this can be accomplished, the parts withinithe casing 4 will be locked against motion and the result therefore will be the rotation of the casing 4 and the consequent rotation of the shaft 3.

The casing 4 is provided with two slide valves 28 which are the same in construction and which when open permit the free movement of the oil in the groove or passage 27. When vtliese valves are closed across the channel 27 the movement of the oil is stopped and as a result the casing 4 will be rotated as `will the shaft 3 inthe manner to which l have already referred. rll`he valves 28 are furnished with outwardly extending stems 29 connected with the shifter 30 slidable on the shaft and which is movable thereon for instance by the hand-lever 31 connected, loosely therewith. ill/hen therefore it is desired to start the shaft 3 the hand-lever will be manipulated to close the two valves and thus wholly stop the flow of the oil.

The heads of the pistons 21 and 22 are furnished with check valves 32 controlling ports or passages 33, the consequence being that when there is a waste or leakage of the normal supply of oil these valves are automatically opened by the .vacuum to thus replenish the loss.

1t will be at once apparent that the clutch is quite compact. This indeed is one of its important points. The pistons 21 and 22 reciprocate in parallelism with the shafts .2 and 3 the consequence being that they can be brought in close to each other and consequently give a perfect balance at all times. rlhe gears already described constitute a very advantageous means of reciprocating the two pistons. ln addition to the fact that the two pistons by reciprocating in parallelism with said shafts brings them into small compass,y

it insures the further advantage of a balanced structure which is of great importance. The oil used to edect the action of the clutch is also balanced.

lt will of course be clear that the chambers 28 of the two cylindrical slide valves 28, intersect the annular channel 27, and are diametrically opposite each other. 0bviously they are formed in the cylindrical extension 8 respectively between the piston chambers 8 and 8". Each of them has several longitudinally-eXt/ending bores 28 for the dow of the oil to thus equalize the pressure of said oil on said valves.

What 1 claim is: y 1. A device of the class described comprising a casing to contain liquid, a driving shaft extended into the casing, a gear roi tative with said driving shaft, a driven shaft also extended into the casing and rotative therewith, pistons in said easing operable to effect the movement of the liquid and both reciprocative in parallelism with said shafts, gears in mesh with the other gear, and having means for reciprocating the pistons, and means for checking as desired, the movement of the liquid.

2. A device of the class described comprising a casing to contain liquid,y a driving shaft extended into the casing, a bevel gear rotative with said shaft, oppositebevel gears in mesh with the other bevel gear, a driven shaft extended into the casing and rotative therewith, a pair of pistons reciprocative in parallelism with said shafts, for circulating the liquid, said opposite bevel gears having means for reciprocating said pistons, and means for checking as desired, the movement of the liquid.

3. A device of the class described comprising a easing to contain liquid, a driving shaft extending into the casing and rotative with respect thereto, a bevel gear fixed to said shaft, withln the casing, a driven shatt extending into the casing and rotative therewith, a pair of opposite bevel gears also within the easing and in mesh with said bevel gear, the casing having cylinders and also having an annular passage in communication with said cylinders, a pair of pistons, in parallelism with said shafts, a pair of valves, means for at will moving said valves across said passage to check the tlow of liquid along said passage, eccentrics connected with the respective opposite bevel gears, and pitlnen associated with the respective eccentrics for action thereby and respectively connected with said pistons.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILBUR L. SHEPARD. Vitnesses:

H. ALICE WHITEHEAD, HEATH SU'rHERLANn. 

